2013 Lehigh Lacrosse Player Blog: Complacency

2013 Lehigh Player Blog: Complacency

The 2013 season is here and we wanted to work closely with college programs to bring a part of the excitement to you. Throughout the 2013 season we will highlight lacrosse programs on our space for all of our readers to follow. Player blogs serve as a unique outlet for programs to showcase their season as it develops, plus highlight everything they have to offer a student-athlete. In contrast, families and fans get a glimpse into the program’s athletic and academic regimen.

Brian Hess
Midfielder – #2

Complacency. That was the key word and theme of practice this past week as our team found itself struggling only a few sleeps before the opening tilt of our 2013 campaign. The excitement of game #1 got the better of us, and as a result, our focus during last Thursday’s practice was less than acceptable. The lack of focus really came to light while we were struggling with our clearing drill. Coach Cassese was having none of it, and put us on the end line and ordered us to regroup. We did so, and had a great rest of practice on Thursday and Friday. One highlight of the week was J.P. Walsh and his “Joke of the Day” on Thursday afternoon. One of the many great things Coach has instituted at Lehigh is the daily “Joke of the Day,” which happens right before we start practice. Depending on what practice number it is, that corresponding person who wears that jersey number is responsible for a joke. For example, DiMaria had the joke of the day for practice #1, I had it for practice #2, and so on. Regardless, J.P. had a beauty of a joke, as he absolutely roasted Coach Compitello. I can’t tell you much, but what I can tell you is that the boys really got a kick out of it.

Fortunately for us, Winter Storm Nemo pushed the game back to Sunday, and we had a whole extra day to really reflect on what made us successful last year. Our senior class went through some rough years in our first two season before making a name for ourselves in 2012, and we weren’t about to let Lehigh drift back into mediocrity on our watch. After refocusing the troops, the Mountain Hawks had a big opening win over a very scrappy St. Joseph’s team, 14-1, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Our attack and defensive units, the two focal points of our team, both had great games. David DiMaria, the quarterback of our offense, put on a clinic with 6 goals and 1 assist. Dante Fantoni and Dan Taylor weren’t too shabby either, going 3 and 2 and 2 and 1, respectively. On defense, Mike “The Commander” Noone anchored the unit as he was beautifully directing traffic all day. Mike is one of the best communicators on the team, one of his many talents.

Additionally, Ty Souders and Tripp Telesco played very well. Newly transformed defensive midfielder Harry Lawrence (stand up, 510!!!) played very well in his debut at d-mid. Alex “The Absolute Grade A, Hands Down, No Questions Asked Legend” Eaton deserves a special shout out for scoring his first collegiate goal off a beautiful feed from Klayton Don Heston. His celebration was unbelievable, and some of us weren’t sure if it was ever going to end. After four fist pumps and three points to the crowd as well as a hip bump, Alex returned to the sideline. However, I shouldn’t be really one to make fun of someone else’s post goal celebration, considering I think I’m in the running for worst celebration in the country.

2013 Lehigh Player Blog: Complacency

Our squad met for film on Monday to review the team goals as well as learn from the game. We had a lot more green than pink on the team goals sheet, which is always a positive. After watching many clips and learning from our mistakes, Coach Cassese gave out the player of the game award, which went to none other than David DiMaria. He really earned it as he was an absolutely dominant force all game. As we do with every game, we put the game behind us and started to put all of our focus on Villanova, our upcoming opponent. We don’t need much motivation for this game, as they embarrassed us 17-7 last year on our home turf. With that being said, this is a very talented Villanova team and it will be no easy task. We know we have our work cut out for us, and are embracing a hard, intense, week of practice. To ultimately accomplish our goals, we know that we will need to put in work up front to have it pay off in the long run.

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